Refrigerator



Sept. 23, 1941. J. w. CHAMBERLAIN REFRIGERATOR Filed March 18, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 23, 1941.

J. W. CHAMBERLAIN REFRIGERATOR Filed March 18, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 23, 1941 UNITED STATES "PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR Joseph w. Chamberlain, Zeeiand, Mich. Application March 18, 1940, Serial No. 324,573

13 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigeration, and while the drawings disclose the use of my invention with particular respect to the cooling of milk, it will be obvious that it may be utilized for cooling any desired substance in a comparatively short period of time.

The invention is particularly adapted for use on farms for the cooling of milk prior to its transportation to the dairy. At the present time it is common practice for the farmer to set the cans of milk in a bath of water which has either been naturally cooled or artificially cooled by means of ice. This method, however, takes considerable time inasmuch as the bath in which the milk receptacles are placed eventually becomes warm due to the absorption of heat from milk. It is therefore, a particular object of this invention to both facilitate and expedite the cooling of such milk by causing to flow over the receptacle, both sides and bottom, a continuous stream of water which has been either artificially cooled by refrigeration or which is naturally cool by reason of the fact that it may come from a well.

Another object of the invention is to provide an insulated cabinet within which the milk receptacles may beset both during and after coolin It is a still further object of my invention to provide a means within the cabinet for artificially cooling water which may be pumped over the receptacle and again used continuously.

Still another object is to provide within the refrigerator compartment means for controlling both the motor which forces the refrigerant through the coils and the flow of the refrigerant itself.

Other objects and purposes of the invention will appear more fully as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention then consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The annexed drawings and following description set forth in detail certain mechanism for carrying out my invention, said means constituting, however, but a few of the various ways in which the principle of the invention my be employed.

In said annexed drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views:

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through the cabinet showing some of the working parts thereof in elevation.

Fig. 2 isa horizontal section through the cabinet in the upper part thereof.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the cabinet in the lower part thereof.

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section through the cabinet, and

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing a modification of the invention.

Referring now more particularly to the draw-.

ings, the cabinet is composed of a bottom I, top 2, back 3, and ends 4. At the front of the cabinet a portion 5 extends upwardly from the bottom thereof for a short distance providing the opening 6 at the front thereof adapted to be closed by the door I which is hinged at one side of the cabinet as at 8. In the preferred embodiment of the invention as shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, a lower compartment is provided having the bottom 9, top

l0 and ends ll. partment provides a shelf or support on which the milk receptacles l2 may rest both during the cooling of the milk l3 therein and after such milk has been cooled, awaiting delivery to the dairy.

A number of conduits are provided for carrying the water or cooling fluid from a particular source into contact with the milk receptacle I2.

I have designed these various conduits so that if I a farmer has sufficiently cool well water he may utilize this means of coolingthe milk after which cooling the water may be carried off to the animal trough so that it will not be wasted. On the other hand, if it is necessary to cool the water artificially, the lower compartment may contain the necessary cooling means, but in this case the same water is used continuously. The inlet conduit for the well water is indicated at It which has a valve l 5 thereon 'adaptedto be closed when artificial refrigeration is used. This pipe l4 extends into the cabinet where a vertical pipe I6 is connected thereto and which extends downwardly to a point below the top III of the lower compartment where it then extends horizontally as at I! and is capped at H), which cap has a restriction therein. Near the center of the horizontal portion I! a coupling I9 is located having an opening 20 at its upper side so that as the cooling fluid flows through the conduit l1, and due to the constriction in the cap IS, a sumcient back pressure will be built up to cause a spray of water to be emitted from the opening 20 which is directed against the bottom of the receptacle l2.

Also connected to the conduit I4 are the short conduits 2| which extend toward the receptacle The top Ill of this lower com- 2 in a horizontal plane for a short distance after which they are curved in substantially the form of a semi-circle as shown at 2|a so that they may extend around the circular neck of the receptacle. The pipes 2| are pivotally connected to the conduit |4 so that they may be spread open, together with the portion 2la thereof to enable a receptacle to be either placed within'or removed from the cabinet. The lower side of each portion 2|a is provided with a plurality of smallhoies as more clearly shown in Fig. 5, and are provided with caps 22 at their ends in order to build up sufficient pressure within the pipes to cause a spray of water through the openings therein. This spray will be directed inwardly and downwardly onto the upper portion of the receptacle and will continue to flow over the entire receptacle down to the top III of the lower com-- partment. This top i provided with an opening or a plurality of openings 23 at one side thereof so that all of the water which had been used in cooling the milk in the receptacle both from the conduits 2|a and the conduit i1, will flow downwardly through the opening or openings 23 into the lower compartment.

The inner end of the conduit i4 is connected to the vertical pipe 24 as clearly shown in Fig. 1, which extends downwardly substantially to the bottom of the lower compartment where it is connected to the centrifugal pump 25 actuated by the motor 26 by means of the elongated shaft 21 around which is located the protective sleeve 28. Adjacentthe inner end of the conduit |4 it is provided with a three-way valve 29 which has connected thereto the short vertical pipe section 30 which, in turn, is then connected to the horizontal conduit 3| extending to a point outside of the cabinet.

When naturally cool water is used it flows through the conduit l4, a part of it being directed through the conduits 2| and 2|a where it is sprayed over the upper part of the receptacle, and the remainder of it passed downwardly through the conduit IE to the conduit i! where part of it is sprayed upwardly through the opening against the bottom of the receptacle and part flows through the restricted opening l8. As this water flows downwardly through the openings 23 and I8 into the lower compartment, the centrifugal pump carries it upwardly through the conduit 24 and the conduits and 3| by reason of the fact that the three-way valve 29 is set to close the opening into the conduit l4. From the conduit 3| the water may be then carried to an animal trough or may be utilized in any other desired manner.

When it is either necessary or desirable to artificially cool the water, a plurality of cooling coils 32 is located in the lower compartment. The compartment is provided with partitions 33 to divide it into a number of smaller communicating compartments or sections, preferably shown in the drawings as three in number. The frontmost compartment is denoted by the numeral 34, the center one by the numeral and the rearmost one by the numeral 36. Each compartment is provided with the supports 31 for supporting the refr gerating coils 32. It will be noted in Fig. 4 that I have found it advisable to provide the front compartment 34 with a greater number of coils 32 than either of the other compartments; also the central compartment 35 is provided with a greater number of coils 32 than the compartment 38. Ice will then freeze in the section 34 first where the used water is first directed and.

there will be less ice in either of the other compartments where the water flows after there is contact with the ice on the coils in compartment 34.

When the artificial cooling means is used, a quantity of cooling fluid such as water, indicated at 38, is placed in the lower compartment. The valve IS on the conduit I4 will be closed and the three-way valve 29 will be set to close off the conduit 30.' The water in the compartment having been cooled, will be forced upwardly through the conduit 24 by means of the pump 25 where it passes through the conduit N. Then, as before, some of the water will pass through the conduits 2| and 2|a to be sprayed over the receptacle I2 and the rest will be conducted through the conduits l6 and I1 where it will be sprayed upwardly against the bottom of said receptacle, or bypassed to lower compartment 34. The water thus used will then be drained through the opening or openings 23 to the lower compartment and particularly to the frontmost section 34 thereof where it will flow over the ice around the coils 32 therein and from whence it passes to the second and third sections at which time it will have been cooled sufficiently to again be used.

The usual refrigerator unit 39 is located above the cabinet and is of the general well known type which need not be described in detail here inasmuch as it forms no particular part of this invention. It is provided with the usual motor 40 and has a small conduit 4| extending therefrom within which the usual refrigerant passes. The conduit 4| extends downwardly into the cabinet a short distance where it is connected to the expansion valve 43. The conduit 4| then continues downwardly where it is connected to or may be made integral with the coils 32 which are located in each section of thelower compartment. From the rearmost section 36 the conduit or coil 32 extends upwardly and is connected to the inlet side of the refrigerator unit 39.

In order to completely control the amount of ice being formed on the coils I have provided two control bulbs. The first of these, indicated at 44, is located in the frontmost section 34 of the lower compartment or in any desirable location and is connected to the control switch of the motor 40. The second of these bulbs, indicated at 45, is located in the rearmost section 36 of the lower compartment and is connected to the expansion valve 43. When suflicient ice has formed in the front compartment, the bulb 44 will cause the motor 40 to shut off thereby preventing further flow of refrigerant through the coils. The bulb 45, by reason of its connection to the expansion valve i3, helps to regulate the flow of refrigerant through the valve while the motor is running.

It is usually desirable to cause an agitation of the milk while it is being cooled, and, while at the present time it is usually done by hand, a more ffective and eflicient manner of doing this is included in my invention by the provision' of a small motor 46 located on top of the cabinet which is provided with a vertical shaft 41 extending downwardly through the top thereof and which has a chuck 48 on its lower end. I then provide an elongated shaft 49 having a small propeller 50 at the lower end thereof and which has a removable disk 5| near the upper end thereof, After the milk receptacle has been placed in the cabinet it may be tilted slightly to allow the insertion of the shaft 49 therein, the upper end of which is then forced into the chuck 43 and fastened securely by the means of the thumb screw 52 or the stirrer may be inserted in the can before it is set in the box. The provision of 'the disk 5| prevents any condensed moisture within the cabinet from dripping into the milk. Furthermore, this device is more satisfactory from the standpoint of public health in view of the fact that the only portion of the entire device which touches the milk is a portion of the shaft 49 and the propeller 50, which may be easily cleaned and sterilized. The motor 46 is run during the cooling operation, the propeller 50 agitating the milk sufficiently so that a rapid cooling thereof is effected.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 5 wherein is disclosed a slight modification of the invention, I have provided a compartment 53 at the top of th cabinet which has therein a plurality of inclined refrigerating trays 54. The underlying principle of this modification is substantially the same as that hereinbefore described, except that the water is pumped from the lower compartment 55 upwardly to the top of the compartment 53 where it is permitted to pass downwardly by gravity over the ice trays 54, into the conduit 56 and thence over and around the receptacle in the same manner as hereinbefore described. In this case the conduit la is pro.- vided with the valve l5a and has connected thereto the vertical conduit Ilia which terminates in the horizontal conduit Na and provides the upward spray to the bottom of the receptacle. Above this is located the conduit 3la which is connected at its inner end to the conduit 24a by means of the three-way valve 29a. There is also a valve 56a in the line 56. When well water is used the valve l5a. will remain open, the valve 29a will be opened to the conduits 24a and Ma and the valve 5611 will be closed; however, when the artificial cooling means is used the valve 15a will be closed, the three-way valve 29a will close communication with the conduit 3|a. to

permit the water to be pumped from the compartment 55 upwardly to the upper compartment and the valve 56a will be opened forwater to flow from the compartment 53 through the conduit 56.

To obviate the necessity of lining the entire cabinet with metal, with my construction there need be metal only around the receptacle being cooled, and the water compartment containing the coils. As will be clearly seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the top III of the lower compartment is provided with upwardly extending lips 51 around the four edges thereof and the lip 58 at the center. A

metal jacket having sides 59 and a back 60 is.

supported on the top Ill by the lips 51 and 58 to provide the metallic chamber where the receptacle to be cooled is placed.

While in the preferred embodiment of my invention I have disclosed a cabinet wherein one milk receptacle may be set after cooling while another is being cooled, it will be obvious that the cabinet may be extended to accommodate any desired number of receptacles. Also means may be provided to cool as many receptacles simultaneously as may be desired. From the foregoing disclosure it will be clear that the refrigerator coils need not be installed at the time the unit is sold if the user has available sufficiently cool well water. On the other hand the refrigerator unit may be installed at any later date. In actual use, as compared with a period of several hours which has heretofore been necessary for cooling milk, I have been able to cool milk from the temperature of 98 down to 55 in about ten minutes by theme of city water and without employing any artificial refrigeration. The machine has many advantages of construction which make it easier and more economical for the farmer to operate.

The shape and size of the cabinet may be varied, the cooling means may be separate from the cabinet, or other desired cooling means may be employed without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention. The openings in the conduits 2i a are preferably placed at the underside thereof to prevent splashing although they may also be placed on the inside as shown.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one here explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed provided, however, that the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I claim:

-l. A refrigerator for cooling milk comprising, a cabinet, a supporting floor in said cabinet to support milk containing receptacles, a compartment divided into a plurality of communicating chambers, refrigerating coils in each chamber, the number of coils in said chambers varying from a greater number in the one at one side of the compartment to a lesser number in each adjacent chamber so that a decreasing amount of ice will be formed in each adjacent chamber from the one at the one side of the compartment, means for flowing water through said chambers and around said coils beginning with the chamber havin the, greatest number of coils and ending with the chamber having the least number of coils, a conduit extending from said last chamber to a point adjacent a receptacle, two additional conduits pivotally connected to the first conduit to be rotated about a vertical axis, said' additional conduits being bowed outwardly in on posite directions in substantially a half circle and located in a horizontal plane around the top of said receptacle, a plurality of openings in said additional conduits to direct cooled water passing therethrough over and around said receptacle, and openings in said supporting floor adjacent the chamber having the greatest number of coils therein, whereby water, having flowed over and around said receptacle, will be directed to said last named chamber.

2. A refrigerator for cooling milk comprising, a cabinet, a supporting floor in said cabinet to support milk containing receptacles, a compartment divided into a plurality of communicating chambers, refrigerating coils in each chamber, the number of coils in each chamber varying from a greater number in the chamber at one side of the compartment to successively lesser numbers in adjacent chambers toward the other side of the compartment, means for directing water into the chamber having the greater number of coils and over the coils therein, said water passing through each successive chamber and over the coils therein, and means for directing the water thus cooled from the last chamber to and around said receptacles.

3. The combination with a refrigerator having a cabinet, a support, a milk receptacle thereon and refrigerating coils, of means for flowing water over said coils, two conduits located around the top of the receptacle in a horizontal plane, the ends of said conduits being adjacent each other, mounting means for said conduits so they may be moved in a horizontal plane to open position to receive a receptacle and to closed position around said receptacle, openings in said conduits, and means to force cooled water therethrough to pass downwardly over the receptacle.

4. A refrigerator for cooling milk comprising, a cabinet, a supporting floor in said cabinet for supporting milk receptacles, a compartment divided into a plurality of communicating chambers from one side of the compartment to the other side, refrigerating coils in said chambers having more surface exposed in the chamber at one side of the compartment than in the chamber at the other side of the compartment, means for carrying water away from the chamber having the lesser amount of coil surface exposed therein to and around said receptacles, and means to cause the used warmer water to pass into the chamber having the greater amount of coil surface therein, for the purposes specified.

5. The combination of elements defined in claim 4, said refrigerating coils being an evaporator.

6. The combination of elements defined in claim 4, combined with means for spraying the cooled water over said receptacles including two conduits located around the upper end of each receptacle, and means for mounting said conduits whereby they may be moved in a substantially horizontal plane in opposite directions to open and closed positions.

'7. In a refrigerator for cooling milk, a compartment divided into a plurality of communicating chambers, said compartment adapted to receive a heat exchange liquid which is to be cooled therein, each chamber having a plurality of coils therein through which a refrigerant passes, means to force the refrigerant therethrough, an expansion valve and two control bulbs, one of said bulbs located in the chamber where the heat exchange liquid is first received and connected to said means, and the other bulb located adjacent another chamber and connected to said expansion valve, said bulbs and connections so arranged that when a predetermined amount of ice is formed in the chamber where the first bulb is located the operation of the refrigerant forcing means will be stopped automatically, and said second bulb will control the flow of refrigerant through said expansion valve.

8. The combination of elements defined in claim 7, wherein each of said chambers has a diflerent number of coils therein to form different amounts oi ice, the bulb connected to the expansion valve being located adjacent the chamber having the smallest number of coils, and the bulb connected to said means being located in the chamber having the greatest number of coils therein.

9. In a device of the class described, a refrigerating compartment, refrigerating coil sections therein, said compartment being arranged to form a plurality of serially connected cooling zones each having one of said sections therein, means to introduce a cooling fluid into the first zone of said series, the capacity of the cooling section in the first zone being so related to the size thereof as to cause the formation of ice thereon at a more rapid rate than the ice may be formed in the other zones.

10. The combination of elements defined in claim 9, combined with an expansion valve feeding the refrigerant coil controlled by a bulb adjacent a zone other than the first zone.

11. The combination of elements definedin claim 9, wherein said sections are supplied by refrigerant circulating means under the control of a thermal bulb located in said first zone.

12. In a device of the class described, a cabinet having a back, ends and top permanently connected together, an open front on said cabinet having doors thereon, means in the cabinet to support a receptacle having a liquid therein to be cooled, an agitator extending downwardly into said receptacle having a shaft thereon, a motor mounted above said receptacle with a shaft ex-- tending downwardly and means for releasably connecting the agitator shaft to said motor shaft whereby the removal of the receptacle is facilitated.

13. In a device of the class described, a receptacle having a substance therein to be cooled, a refrigerating compartment having refrigerating coils therein over which a cooling fluid is adapted to pass, means for conveying said cooling fluid from said compartment after it has been cooled to said receptacle, and means for returning some of the cooling fluid to said compartment more often than it passes over said receptacle, whereby the cooling fluid is maintained at a low temperature.

JOSEPH W. CHAMBERLAIN. 

